Rob Jones reviews soul records from his vinyl collection.
Marion James - I'm The Woman for You (1967)
Marion James (Mary Agnes Childress) was born in Nashville, Tennessee on October 8th 1934. She came from a musical family and began to sing when was just 5 years old. Heavily influenced by her mother's record collection and the blues singers who appeared in the Vaudeville shows of the time, Marion was singing in churches by the age of 12 before becoming interested in a solo career singing R&B. By 1962 she was billed as "The Great Miss Marion James with Her Famous Continentals”, and in 1966 she achieved major commercial success with the top-ten hit 'That’s My Man' on the Nashville-based Excello Records label.
Although Marion had achieved relatively early stardom and international success, she never forgot her roots and always went out of her way to help other singers and musicians and was often referred to as Nashville's Queen of the Blues. Her voice was quite unique and I think that's clearly demonstrated in this 1967 release on the Nashville K & J Records label which is my personal favourite of all her songs. Marion passed away in January 2016 at the age of 81, but her musical legacy lives on.
Mike McDonald - God Knows (1971)
A superb piece of uptempo blue-eyed soul which I have found often bridges the gap between soul fans and the more casual listeners on the radio and live gigs alike, and although it will be familiar to many reading this, the number of people who still hear it for the very first time and get switched on by it never ceases to amaze me. I've often put that down to Mike McDonald's vocal delivery. The record featured in the video is the original US RCA demo, but its UK release coupled with Derek and Ray's 'Interplay' circa 1978 gained quite a bit of traction some years later.
Michael McDonald was born in February 1952 in Ferguson, Missouri and played in local bands as a teenager before joining Steely Dan as a backing vocalist and keyboards player. In 1975 he joined the Doobie Brothers and was credited for the band's transition to a more soulful style, after which he went on to become a global superstar in his own right. Many may disagree, but for me this record was Mike McDonald at his best.
Moving Violation - Spinnin' Top (1974)
A somewhat forgotten but amazing old '70s record with plenty of soul appeal. The band originally formed in Cleveland while attending Patrick Henry Junior High School with members Mark Anthony (lead singer), Ulysses Barnes, Enos Scott and Ronald Sims. After recording several singles as the Elements for Saru Records in the early 1970s, they changed their name to the Moving Violation and released 'Spinnin' Top' on Atlantic, changing their name again in the late 1970s to Sonlight. There are a couple of different US demos of this, the other one being the Monarch pressing which is quite easily identified by the different font style and a the 'ST-A-28772-MO' on the middle left of the label. Perhaps not as desirable to collectors as this one, but what a tune on any label design!
New People - I'm Losing You (circa 1968/69)
All Star Records was a small independent label and while the group's exact home city remains unconfirmed, original copies of the 45 have historically been tied to Chicago, Illinois. Notably, an archive copy emerged from the personal estate of the late Chicago record producer and blues bass player Frank Bandy in 2019, strengthening the Chicago connection. Furthermore, Frank Bandy played bass with Chicago outfit the Dontells and although slightly speculative, it's very likely that the New People consisted of core members of the Dontells, who were Gwen Bradshaw (vocalist), Emanuel Seal Sr (lead vocals), Nathaniel 'Nate' Pendleton (tenor/writer) and Art Mitcham (vocalist) all of whom were working with Leroy Dandridge circa 1966/67, which provides a plausible blueprint for the New People line-up. Legendary producer Leroy Dandridge also worked with Sam & Kitty, the Turks, Singing Sam etc. From a collector's perspective, my advice would be to track down a copy for your collection, as the asking price of this particular gem at the time of writing this review certainly doesn't reflect its true value.
Norman T Washington - Tip Toe (1968)
Norman T Washington's recording career spanned roughly a decade and he's still remembered among record collectors for his smooth yet gritty delivery, and a singer who frequently split his output between original material and cleverly re-imagined cover versions to suit the mood of the British mod and skinhead subcultures at a time when a distinctive fusion was taking place on the dance floors over here. While Caribbean immigrants were reshaping the cultural fabric of the UK, some independent record labels stepped up to capture the energy of early reggae and American-influenced soul - and at the epicentre of this underground musical revolution was the now legendary Pama Records label which perfectly bridged the gap between Jamaican rhythms and Afro-American soul. The label was founded in London in 1967 by brothers Carl, Harry and Jeff Palmer and initially started out as a dedicated soul and R&B imprint. However, the brothers soon latched onto the huge tidal wave of Jamaican music washing over the UK and quickly changed tactics, directly licensing rocksteady and ska tracks straight from Kingston producers to wage a fierce but friendly war against Chris Blackwell’s Island Records with 'Tip Toe' being released during Pama’s crucial transitional year of 1968.
Published via Palmer Music and Sleeping Bunny Music, the tune captures the label's dual identity perfectly as a record which wasn't pure Jamaican reggae or American Motown, and was more of a gritty British soul hybrid. The record stands out as one of the gems of the Pama catalogue and represents a fascinating artifact from a time when soul and early reggae collided. As most collectors will already know, this version was actually a cover of a tune originally written and recorded by Robert Parker, more famously known for his massive hit 'Barefootin''. Although Robert Parker’s original version of 'Tip Toe' was meant to replicate the commercial success of 'Barefootin'' in the United States, it was largely ignored by the mainstream. Though Pama Records had wound down its primary operations by 1973, the influence of its catalogue has never faded. Norman T Washington’s 'Tip Toe went on to achieve a global, slow-burning cult status and saw international releases in countries like France and Portugal in the years following its UK debut.